GOVERNOR
VETOES BILL REGARDING BURDEN OF PROOF:
MHANYS and other advocates for individuals with disabilities
were greatly disappointed to learn of Governor Pataki’s
veto of A11965 / S.8354 today. This legislation was intended
to reinstate the burden of proof in impartial special education
hearings on the school districts.
School
districts have traditionally had to bear the burden of proof
in special education hearings, a burden intentionally placed
on school districts in an attempt to level the playing field,
given the overwhelming advantage school districts have over
parents in legal, informational, personnel and financial resources.
Last year, the Supreme Court reversed this practice in their
ruling in Shaffer v. Weast that the burden of proof in such
hearings would be the responsibility of the parents of children
with special needs instead of the school district. Many other
states have recognized the problems that arises from this
court decision, nine of which have already taken action to
enact laws to return the burden to school districts.
In
vetoing the bill, the Governor articulated concerns put forth
by school districts and others that the bill, if enacted into
law, would result in an increase in lawsuits and is not authorized
by federal law (despite the fact that other states have enacted
such laws). In addition, Governor Pataki articulated his desire
to wait to see if Federal regulations may establish a uniform
national rule with respect to the burden of proof in such
cases, which would preempt this bill were it enacted.
This
veto negatively impacts children with disabilities and the
parents and advocates who work on their behalf. We just hope
this is not a sign of things to come with regard to the Mental
Health Housing Waiting List and ‘Boot the SHU’
legislation about to be delivered to the Governor on August
4th, or for Timothy’s Law when it is approved by both
houses, hopefully this fall.
CALL IN TO ‘BOOT THE SHU’:
Advocates for eliminating the use of solitary confinement
for prisoners with psychiatric disabilities met with Governor
Pataki’s staff and held a press conference on Tuesday
in an effort to get the Governor to sign this legislation
into law when it is sent to him on August 4th. Following below
are several articles from newspapers throughout New York State.
Please
take a moment to call Governor Pataki to urge him to sign
the legislation to
‘Boot the SHU’
CALL
GOVERNOR PATAKI AT 518-474-8390
and leave the following message:
“I’m a registered voter from (your locality) calling
to urge you to improve prison conditions and safety by signing
A.3926A into law!”
OUT OF THE DARKNESS COMMUNITY WALKS:
TO
BENEFIT THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION
FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
Proceeds from each of the Out of the Darkness Walks will benefit
local and national suicide prevention and awareness programs.
SYRACUSE
“Walk for Josh” on 8/19/06 at the Onondaga Lake
Park, Bay Tent location. Registration will be held at the
Bay Tent location at 8:00 a.m. Walk will begin at 9:00.
Contact - Debra Graham, MACDAG0153@aol.com
CAPITAL
REGION
Walk for Rita on 9/17/06 at the Saratoga Race Course. Registration
will be held at the Union Ave. parking area (Main Track) at
9:00 a.m. The walk will begin at 10:00.
Contact – Lisa Riley, LRILEYDoclady@aol.com
ROCHESTER
Out of the Darkness Community Walk – Walk for Suicide
Prevention on 10/7/06 at the Genesee Valley Park. Registration
will be held at 9:00 a.m. at the Round-House Shelter. The
walk will begin at 10:00.
Contact - Anna Cooper, Anna_Cooper@URMC.Rochester.edu
To
register, donate or to learn more go to www.outofthedarkness.org.
MHANYS EXTENDS 2006 MEDIA AWARDS NOMINATIONS
PERIOD TO SEPTEMBER 1ST: Anyone interested in nominating
a newspaper article, television segment or radio broadcast
for outstanding coverage of mental health issues should fill
out this nomination form
or contact Melissa Ramirez at infocenter@mhanys.org or 800
766-6177.
IN
THE NEWS:
(Note: A version of this article also appeared in Long
Island’s Newsday, The Ithaca Journal, The New York Sun,
Syracuse’ WSTM-TV’s website, the Schenectady Daily
Gazette, Auburn Citizen and Albany Times Union.)
Bill Directs Care for Mentally Ill Inmates.
By Mark Johnson
Buffalo News, July 26, 2006
ALBANY
- Despite three previous suicide attempts and a long history
of mental illness, 36-year-old James Butler was treated like
just another prisoner with disciplinary problems.
He
was put in "the box," housed alone in a cell 23
hours a day for months at a time at Fishkill Correctional
Facility. Butler, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, took his
own life in June 2000, his mother Elsie Butler said Tuesday.
"Putting
James in the box did not help him," she said. "It
killed him. . . . It was cruel punishment he should not have
been forced to endure."
Under
a bill being sent to Gov. George E. Pataki on Aug. 4, mentally
ill inmates in the state's prisons no longer would be put
in solitary confinement. Instead they would be placed in a
residential mental health treatment program.
If
Pataki signs the bill, New York would join a handful of states,
including California, Florida and Texas, that ban the practice
of putting mentally ill prisoners in so-called "special
housing units," said mental health advocates who came
to the State Capitol to push for Pataki's approval of the
measure.
State
Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio, R-Fayette, and Assemblyman Jeffrion
L. Aubrey, D-Queens, sponsors of the bill, say about 8,000,
or 12 percent, of the state's 63,500 inmates are affected
by serious mental illness. When put in solitary confinement,
those prisoners are three times more likely to commit suicide
or to mutilate themselves than inmates in the general prison
population.
Nearly
a quarter of the roughly 7,600 inmates in special housing
units are being treated for some type of mental illness. Half
of those suffer from depression, and 28 percent suffer from
schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, according to a survey by
the Correctional Association, a watchdog group for prisoners
and their families.
Nozzolio
said the bill would also make state prisons safer for staff
and inmates by giving treatment to those who need it.
(Note:
A similar article also was published in the Utica Observer-Dispatch,
The Ithaca Journal and Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)
Mentally Ill Inmate Care May
Improve - Upgrades await OK from Pataki. By Cara
Matthews
Poughkeepsie Journal, July 26, 2006
ALBANY
— Elsie Butler of Poughkeepsie first lost her mentally
ill son to the prison system, then she lost him for good when
he took his own life while incarcerated.
James
Butler had bipolar disorder and hanged himself with a sheet
in June 2000 after nearly 200 days in solitary confinement.
He was 36, Elise Butler said. His death could have been prevented,
she said.
On
Tuesday, she urged Gov. George Pataki to protect other families
by signing legislation to improve mental-health treatment
for prisoners and prohibit the placement of those with serious
mental illness in solitary confinement, also known as the
box.
"As
a mother, I ask, would you want such cruelty and such inhumanity
to be assigned to your family member?" she asked, her
words directed at Pataki, who was not at the news conference.
The
Assembly and Senate passed the bill this year. Now it's up
to Pataki — who will get the bill Aug. 4 — whether
to make it law or veto it.
Members
of the coalition Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement
on Tuesday gave the governor a red and white scroll about
150 feet long with some 2,600 petition signatures.
Eleven
percent, about 7,500, of the state's prison population is
mentally ill, Department of Correctional Services statistics
show. They represent 23 percent of inmates in solitary.
If
signed, the bill would increase staff and training, as well
as prison upgrades. There are no official estimates, but unofficial
ones are $20 million or $30 million. Coalition members disputed
such figures.
Advocates
said it would save money with fewer correction officer injuries,
hospital stays and extended sentences linked to inmates' behavior.
Bryce
McCann of Hope-well Junction said his nephew, Jesse McCann
of Kingston, was a bright, sweet kid whose mental illness
was well documented and that most of the three months he served
were in the box. He was 17 when he hanged himself in 2001.
"Now
I'm just hoping the governor will see the truth and the goodness
and the wisdom of doing this," McCann said.
Advocates Urge Pataki to Ban "The
Box". By Karen DeWitt
New York Public Radio, July 25, 2006
Family members whose loved ones died while in solitary confinement
in state prison, are urging Governor Pataki to sign a bill
banning the practice for prisoners with diagnosed mental illness.
They
are known as special housing units, small cramped cells that
misbehaving prisoners are sent to spend 23 hours out of each
day. The tiny unit is also known as "the box", but
to relatives of people with mental illness who died while
in solitary confinement, it's known as a torture cell.
Elsie
Butler's son James, who had a mental illness, committed suicide
while in solitary confinement at Fishkill state prison in
2000. She says her son didn't have a chance in the box.
"My
James wasn't monitored, and he wasn't treated," Butler
said, as she wiped away tears. "He was simply allowed
to sink lower and lower as his mind became more tortured and
terrified, until he finally passed away."
Butler
says she's "mentally and emotionally crushed" by
the tragic incident, and continues to visit her son's grave
everyday.
The
families and mental health advocates believe they are close
to ending the practice. They have succeeded in getting a bill
passed by the state legislature to ban the box for inmates
who are diagnosed with a mental illness. The bill is sponsored
by the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Corrections Committees,
Republican Senator Michael Nozzolio and Democratic Assemblyman
Jeff Aubrey.
The
measure would require that mentally ill prisoners get adequate
treatment, and that correctional officers receive better training
on how to handle inmates who may be psychotic or delusional.
Prison
guards also back the measure, believing that proper medical
treatment for mentally ill inmates will make prisons safer
for inmates and corrections officers.
The
advocates brought a petition signed by over 2000 people urging
Governor Pataki to sign the bill.
Bob
Corliss, with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill,
says representatives have met with some of Governor Pataki's
staff, and understand there are some technical problems with
the bill. He says his group is not adverse to the legislature
passing any chapter amendments to clean up the legislation,
but says he does not think the technicalities should be allowed
to derail the bill.
Making Money Off the Mentally Ill.
By Jay Neugeboren
The New York Times, July 23, 2006
ON
July 12, five people returning to an adult home for the mentally
ill in Brooklyn were burned to death in a van. My brother,
Robert, could have been one of them.
Robert
has been a patient in New York’s mental-health system
for more than 40 years and once lived in an adult home similar
to Brooklyn Manor, the for-profit institution where the burn
victims and four surviving passengers lived.
It’s
a grim place to call home. Since the 1980’s, the State
Department of Health has repeatedly cited Brooklyn Manor for
abuses ranging from insect infestation and lack of heat to
staff assaults on patients. This month’s van accident
seems to fit the pattern: The license of the van’s driver
had been suspended and none of the passengers wore seat belts,
the authorities said.
Fortunately
for my brother, nearly a decade ago he was discharged from
a state mental hospital into the Clinton Residence, a nonprofit
home in the Hell’s Kitchen section of New York City.
Unlike most for-profit adult homes, the Clinton Residence
was designed to house people with mental illness. It provides
services on site, eliminating the need to crowd residents
into a van and transport them elsewhere.
Since
moving there, Robert has achieved new levels of autonomy and
well-being. Though he had been hospitalized more than 50 times,
and never lived outside a hospital for even two consecutive
years, he has not been sent to a hospital for mental or emotional
problems in the past seven years.
A
month ago, Robert moved to a new residence that affords him
greater independence (a room of his own!) and less supervision.
In his new life, he travels, attends classes, joins family
gatherings, has friends and works at Fountain House, a psychiatric
rehabilitation center. He has published a book and is the
subject of a docudrama. He has achieved all this because of
his extraordinary will, but also because he has received excellent
care.
Nonprofit
homes like Robert’s cost $25,000 to $30,000 per resident
annually. By contrast, taxpayers spend more than $40,000 per
year for the often shameful “care” residents receive
in for-profit homes. Residents at these facilities generate
additional costs in part due to increased hospitalizations
and emergency room visits. Yet despite this record of negligence
and failure, approximately 30,000 New Yorkers remain in for-profit
homes. More than a third of them are mentally ill.
The
state is well aware that successful nonprofit alternatives
exist. What does not exist, however, is the political will
in Albany to ensure that these alternative programs are financed
and expanded, affording mentally ill New Yorkers decent places
to live and competent, caring staff to help them lead happier,
more productive lives.
Scandal
at for-profit adult homes is nothing new. Over the years,
committees and commissions have analyzed the problems. Studies
have been published and promises have been made. But little
has changed. Instead of closing the most corrupt and dangerous
adult homes, the state has subsidized them with grants to
help keep them profitably afloat.
After
the rhetoric accompanying the van tragedy fades, I fear we
will hear only the same old excuses or, worse, another long
silence. But in this case, alas, business as usual is sure
to equal tragedy as usual.
The
state needs a 10-year plan to develop and finance housing
not only for New Yorkers living in adult homes, but for the
estimated 20,000 mentally ill who are homeless or living in
otherwise degrading conditions. Such a plan would save lives
and even money in the long run. To do the right thing, the
governor, along with every legislator in Albany, need only
answer a simple question: What would you do if your brother
— sister, parent, child — had been in that van?
Jay
Neugeboren is the author of “Imagining Robert: My Brother,
Madness and Survival” and “Transforming Madness:
New Lives for People Living with Mental Illness.”
(Note:
This article was published in both Long Island’s Newsday
and the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)
Older Residents Hit Hard by Heat Wave. By
Candice Choi
July 18, 2006
TROY,
N.Y. -- Sitting in front of an electric fan, 66-year-old Gerald
Dolan bears the oppressive heat by limiting his movements
as much as possible.
Like
many adult home residents, the former New York City transit
worker doesn't have air conditioning and is coping with an
8-inch fan and wide open windows.
"You
grin and bear it. That's all you can do really," said
Dolan.
As
a heat wave blankets much of the nation this week, officials
have issued warnings to those caring for the elderly and disabled
to take precautions. Yet regulations do not require assisted
living and adult care homes to provide air conditioning in
New York State and much of the nation.
There
are about 1 million residents in assisted living and adult
care homes across the country, according to the National Citizen's
Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. While these residents are
typically not as frail as those living in nursing homes, they
represent an elderly and often disabled population who are
taking medications that make them sensitive to heat.
"Their
sensors are different. Older people might wrap themselves
in a sweater and not realize they're overheating," said
Cynthia Rudder, spokeswoman for the New York City-based Long
Term Care Community Coalition.
While
electric fans may provide comfort, fans alone will not prevent
heat-related illness when the temperature climbs into the
high 90s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Moving to an air-conditioned place is a better
safeguard, according to the federal agency.
"Comfortable
and safe" temperatures for nursing homes built after
1990 are required under federal regulations, with many states
applying stricter mandates, said Lori Smetanka, spokeswoman
for the National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.
Federal
safeguards do not exist for assisted living and personal care
homes. One reason is that the laws are still catching up with
those burgeoning segments of the senior housing market, Smetanka
said.
New
York, which requires air conditioning for newer nursing homes,
is updating regulations for assisted living and adult homes.
Right now, the state requires adult home operators to ensure
residents are not put at risk on hot days. Advocates for the
elderly say the language doesn't go far enough.
A
survey by the Coalition of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled
in New York City found more than half of adult homes in the
state did not have air conditioning available in every resident
room last year. Most homes have air conditioned common areas,
but that's little help to the seniors who spend most their
time alone in their rooms, said Geoff Lieberman, executive
director for the coalition.
Tracking
the number of illnesses or deaths related to heat is difficult
because the cause of death is often listed as something general,
like stroke or dehydration, according to the coalition.
The
Troy Adult Home air-conditioned community rooms are available
24 hours a day.
That's
where Dolan heads when it gets too hot in his room. That's
not an option at night, however, when he tosses and turns,
struggling to fall sleep in the humid room.
"When
you're younger you're bulletproof and you can take anything.
You get old, and it's nice to be comfortable," Dolan
said.
